IGT: Sabres @ Blackhawks IGT 2/19 at 5:00 p.m.

LordKOTL

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My favorite teams
  1. Portland Timbers
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
It's not about the core being vulnerable, or even tapering off, and I disagree with the fact you think they made the switch. IMHO only Hossa did. Toews looked about the same as he did all last year. Same with the D. Kane and Crawford looked like they tapered off--which is understandable given those 2 plus Panarin carried the team last season. However, I'm prepared to chalk it up as being "gassed" rather than the beginning of the end.

I do agree that 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016 will be footnotes in the history books, though.

The point was that the team goes as the core en masse does, and even as good as this 'hawks core is (probably the best 'hawks core of all time), they are far from perfect and infallible. It's okay, they are human. But, winning requires them to be on--and that means that Toews and Kane (among others) *have* to be gamebreakers. The lack of depth excuse is no excuse. Guys like Hartman and Panik need to augment the core, not cover for them if the team has a chance of winning big.

Which is why the last game was a big one. The core was the core we knew and loved and the depth augmented them.
 

Raskolnikov

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We can disagree. I just felt my eye saw extra juice in Toews skating once it was playoffs. And his tenacity, per usual.
 

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